Millions will hit the road this weekend

John Sommerhof • jsommerhof@edwpub.net

Published
9:17 am CDT, Friday, May 25, 2018

COLLINSVILLE – Experts are predicting the Memorial Day weekend will be the busiest for travelers in more than a decade, with AAA forecasting a 5 percent increase in the number of holiday travelers over last year.

AAA estimates the number of drivers taking the road will be 42 million.

With that in mind, the Illinois State Police is reminding motorists to take the necessary safety precautions to prevent senseless tragedies during the holiday weekend.

State police are strictly enforcing the most common traffic violations that result in crashes: speeding, DUI, seat belts and distracted driving.

They are also instituting policing programs to have more trooper presence on the highways.

With the holiday, the ISP is joining forces with other state highway patrols throughout the Midwest.

The holiday weekend will include a Line-to-Line (L2L) initiative that aims to have a trooper every 25 miles on I-55 from Illinois to Louisiana.

The ISP is taking it one step further by having a trooper every 20 miles in Illinois and will include I-57 and I-80.

ISP will also participate in the nationwide Combined Accident Reduction Effort (CARE) operation.